When people ask me how to go about starting a gluten-free diet, I always tell them to keep it simple. My favorite foods are naturally gluten free—fruits and vegetables, rice, beans, nuts, seeds, seafood and poultry—foods that don’t require a label. Packaged products are fine occasionally, but you need to be a diligent label reader. Even the most minimally processed foods can contain gluten.

 

Ideally, home cooking should be part of every gluten-free lifestyle. When you cook, you know exactly what’s on your plate and what’s going in your body. Try one new recipe a week to build up your repertoire. There are plenty of gluten-free bloggers and cookbook authors out there ready to help!

Laura is the “Gluten Freedom” columnist for the Oregonian and author of The Gluten-Free Asian Kitchen. Find her blog, “Notes from a Gluten-Free Kitchen”, at http://www.laurabrussell.com/